Afghanistan to join Turkey's Efes 2020 military drills

The Afghan National Army will participate for the first time in Efes 2020, one of Turkey's biggest military exercises, an official statement said on Dec. 21.

According to the Ministry of Defense in Kabul, the decision was made during Deputy Minister Munera Yosufzada's trip to Ankara where she met her Turkish counterpart Yunus Emre Karaosmanoğlu.

"[Yosufzada and Karaosmanoğlu] emphasized to modify the training and therapeutic agreements between the Ministries of Defense of the two countries. According to the agreement, some Afghanistan National Army Forces are participating for the first time in the 2020 international military exercises in Turkey and to demonstrate their military and combat capabilities," read the statement. 

The statement added the two deputies discussed the achievements and challenges of Afghan National Army students based in Turkey, the treatment of injured Afghan army personnel currently in Turkish hospitals, and the continuation of strategic cooperation in the areas of education between the two friendly countries.

Some 700 Afghan cadets were trained in Turkey and up to one hundred injured soldiers received health services in Turkey in 2019, according to the statement.

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